The classical Stolarsky principle states that minimizing the L^2 discrepancy of a finite point-set on the sphere with respect to the spherical caps is equivalent to maximizing the sum of the Euclidean distances between the points in the set, thus establishing a connection between discrepancy and energy optimization problems. We shall discuss generalizations and other versions of this principle, and some applications to problem of optimization, combinatorial geometry etc. In particular, we find that there is a peculiar difference between the energies defined by the Euclidean and geodesic distances on the sphere. Speaker(s): Dmitry Bilyk (University of Minnesota)